In front of his outstretched right hand appeared the all-too-familiar blue box, displaying Corvus’ Allbright System Attributes.
[Attributes]:
Strength: 4.18 (+0%)
Finesse: 4.23 (+0%)
Vitality: 4.02 (+0%)
Recovery: 4.28 (+0%)
Stamina: 4.11 (+0%)
Focus: 4.24 (+0%)
Perception: 4.01 (+0%)
Resolve: 3.27 (+0%)
[Psychic: TBD (+0%)] (Locked 15.54/30)
[TBD: TBD (+0%)] (Locked)
Much to Thea’s surprise, Corvus’ Attributes did not list a single 5 amongst the lineup. Overall, however, his Attribute seemed very balanced and highly competitive, when she thought about it for a second, ‘Having a 4 in basically every Attribute is really powerful… He beats me in Strength easily and has the Vitality and Recovery to keep fighting for a while…
‘Not to mention his Stamina and Focus pool, as well as their regeneration rate should be massive… Maybe not having a 5 isn’t as bad as I thought… It is weird that none of his Attributes are anywhere close to the next level, however. I wonder if that’s normal or if that’s just Corvus’ balanced lineup…?’
Taking in all the information, Thea could not help but feel that this Attribute lineup was perfect for a Squad Leader type, such as Corvus. Being a jack-of-all-trades seemed to fit exactly what she would imagine a Squad Leader to have to be able to do.
The rest of Alpha Squad was similarly entranced by Corvus’ Attribute lineup, with Karania doing her best robot impression, by rapidly writing down everything she could, without ever looking away from the holographic projection.
“So yeah… That’s me! I have no 5, but basically a 4 in everything else, except Resolve. Kind of bummed I didn’t get a 5, but after hearing that they must always come with a 2, I figured it could’ve been worse. Any thoughts on this?” Corvus prompted, somewhat awkwardly.
The members of Alpha Squad promptly snapped out of their inward-facing thoughts and looked around. They all seemed to have fallen into a bit of a silent contemplation upon seeing the first Attribute rundown of another member, for one reason or another.
Surprisingly, Desmond was the first to speak, “I think your Attributes are honestly insane. You could probably beat almost anyone, when it comes to most situations. Outside of hyper-focused specialisations, you’d probably beat all of us. Congrats on that. I’m kind of envious now, seeing my own Attribute profile…”
“Unfortunately… With a lot of reluctance… I have to agree with Desmond here. Being an all-rounder in Alpha Squad seems insanely strong. Our Professor for the System 101 lecture today, Professor Pierce, mentioned that most Marines have one 4, maybe two. But you’re rocking a ludicrous seven of them! Even with my 5 in Finesse, I don’t see me being able to hold a candle to you in most situations…” came Karania’s analysis, while gesturing towards herself and Thea.
Taking that as an inclusion to the conversation, Thea nodded, before agreeing, “I agree with Karania. Your Attributes are really good. I can definitely see a lot of possible builds for you already.”
While Thea hadn’t spent a ton of time thinking of builds for Corvus quite yet, she definitely did not need to, with such a balanced lineup of Attributes. Pretty much anything outside of the most specialised of builds would be a perfect fit for Corvus, one way or another.
Visibly relieved at the glowing reviews of his squad, Corvus sat up just a bit straighter, before cracking his usual, friendly smile and saying, “Thank the Emperor. I was honestly very concerned when I realised I didn’t end up with a 5. I figured I’d be super out of place in Alpha Squad, but after hearing all of your words… I feel a lot better already. Thanks, guys.”
Without wasting any time, Desmond spoke up right after, “Looks like it’s my turn then? Take this as a gesture of my cooperation, despite the… questionable actors inside of this squad.”
With a stink-eye directed at Thea and, much to Thea’s surprise, also at Karania, Desmond reached out his left arm and projected the familiar blue box into the middle of the table.
[Attributes]:
Strength: 4.38 (+0%)
Finesse: 4.11 (+0%)
Vitality: 3.21 (+0%)
Recovery: 4.28 (+0%)
Stamina: 3.33 (+0%)
Focus: 5.24 (+0%)
Perception: 3.41 (+0%)
Resolve: 2.27 (+0%)
[Psychic: TBD (+0%)] (Locked 14.13/30)
[TBD: TBD (+0%)] (Locked)
This time around, a lot less silence followed on the reveal of the Attributes, as the initial novelty of seeing someone else’s Attribute screen had already passed with Corvus’.
Corvus was the first to speak, “Not bad. It seems you’ll mostly be going for Focus-based Abilities then. That should do really well with your Attributes. Your Strength and Finesse also have a nice balance to them. Only real problem I see is that Resolve. If what Major Quinn said is true, and Resolve is imperative for survival against Psykers, we need to find a way to bolster you against that…”
A round of agreements followed Corvus’ assessment, with no one else seemingly wanting to chime in with any additional thoughts.
Thea felt like the Attributes for Desmond were a lot more straight-forward to analyse than Corvus’, as it showed a clear favouritism towards one particular build-type, rather than the shotgun-spread like approach of Corvus’ Attributes.
She silently mused to herself, ‘I wonder if anyone else has two 5s or if that’s another weird thing about my Allbright System profile…? With Corvus having none and Desmond only having one… Now that I think about it, I don’t think Professor Pierce mentioned two 5s as even being a possibility…? I hope this isn’t another error in the System like the passive…’
Breaking through her thoughts was the mellow voice of Lucas, who stretched out his arm as well, before projecting his own blue box in the centre of the table, “Looks like it’s my turn, hehe!”
[Attributes]:
Strength: 4.54 (+0%)
Finesse: 3.11 (+0%)
Vitality: 5.31 (+0%)
Recovery: 4.38 (+0%)
Stamina: 4.23 (+0%)
Focus: 2.22 (+0%)
Perception: 3.07 (+0%)
Resolve: 3.02 (+0%)
[Psychic: TBD (+0%)] (Locked 13.62/30)
[TBD: TBD (+0%)] (Locked)
“I’m kind of a meat-loaf. Lots of Vitality, hehe,” he added, causing Thea to grin involuntarily. Something about Lucas’ mellow, kind and somewhat simple demeanour put her at ease, whenever she heard him speak.
“Definitely perfect for a defensive-type heavy. I’m looking forward to being under your care, big man,” interjected Isabella, before clapping Lucas on the back with a loud thud, eliciting a chuckle from the lumbering man.
“I’ll leave the whole killing to all of you then. I’ll just make sure to be the big ol’ target. I should be able to take it, hehe,” Lucas agreed with a nod.
Quickly, Desmond interjected with a counter-argument, “Nonsense! With your Ability and your high Strength, you can become just as much of a menace, if not more, than most of us. We should really take a look around at what kind of monstrous weapons we can slap on you. You’re like a mobile artillery base, if we get you set up properly!”
The rest of Alpha Squad simply looked on, as Lucas, Isabella and Desmond went back and forth on what would be the best way to make use of Lucas’ Attributes and Ability. Ultimately, Corvus decided to jump in and postpone the conversation to a later date, in order to get through everything he had planned for this particular evening.
Thea did not mind simply listening in from the sidelines, as she did not feel like Lucas’ build would influence her own in any way. Whether he was a meat shield or a mobile artillery, her job would remain the same, after all.
Subsequently, she had simply continued eating the prepared food, albeit at a much slower rate, as she thought about all the Attributes and Abilities that had been revealed so far.
Isabella spoke up next, as she was the next one in the counterclockwise rotation they had seemingly, wordlessly agreed upon, “Looks like I’m up next. Don’t think there’s a lot of surprises here…”
With her muscular arm stretched out, she displayed her holographic blue box in the centre of the table, donning her usual stoic expression.
[Attributes]:
Strength: 5.44 (+0%)
Finesse: 4.51 (+0%)
Vitality: 4.11 (+0%)
Recovery: 3.08 (+0%)
Stamina: 4.19 (+0%)
Focus: 2.17 (+0%)
Perception: 3.21 (+0%)
Resolve: 3.04 (+0%)
[Psychic: TBD (+0%)] (Locked 12.53/30)
[TBD: TBD (+0%)] (Locked)
Taking a brief look at Isabella’s Attributes, everyone simply nodded and hummed in agreement.
Corvus was the only one adding any additional thoughts on the matter, “Ye, nothing out of left field, really. The high Finesse does explain how you absolutely mopped the floor with everyone in today’s Practical though. I figured that Strength was your 5, but having a 4.51 in Finesse, really just adds insult to injury when it comes to anyone trying to mess with you, ha!”
Realising that it was her time to share her Attributes, Thea started panicking slightly. There still had not been anyone else with two 5s! Not to mention her Resolve was likely to raise some eyebrows, if nothing else… Karania would not be happy about seeing that, considering her competitive nature.
Unsure of what to do, Thea decided to bide for more time, “Ah, Karania. Can you go first? I’ll finish this plate real quick. Otherwise I’ll have to put down the food while I do the whole projection thing…”
Thea thought to herself, ‘Better look like a glutton than come in here with a bad plan…’
“You’re still eating…? Just how much food can you stuff in that body of yours? Where does it even all go? Do you have a black hole in there somewhere, or something?” Karania teased with a roll of her eyes.
“Sure, I’ll go first, I guess,” she ultimately agreed with a shrug and a shake of her head at Thea’s apparent gluttonous behaviour, prompting Thea to breathe a silent sigh of relief.
With a small amount of extra time gained, Thea’s mind started racing, ‘Now, how do I make it so that Karania doesn’t kill me…?’
As Thea started feverishly thinking of ways to escape the inevitable wrath of her squad mate, Karania stretched out her blood-covered hand, much to the dismay of the other members of Alpha Squad, before projecting her Attributes into the middle of the table.
[Attributes]:
Strength: 2.73 (+0%)
Finesse: 5.62 (+0%)
Vitality: 3.11 (+0%)
Recovery: 4.41 (+0%)
Stamina: 4.19 (+0%)
Focus: 3.24 (+0%)
Perception: 4.38 (+0%)
Resolve: 3.17 (+0%)
[Psychic: TBD (+0%)] (Locked 12.9/30)
[TBD: TBD (+0%)] (Locked)
Lucas immediately hummed at the sight of Karania’s Attribute, before speaking up, “That Strength is mighty low… Professor Hyunji explained to us that through continued physical training, you can get your Strength up to at least a 3. Probably worth doing for you, if you find the time…?”
Thea perked up at that, thinking back to her extremely low Vitality and Recovery, “Oh? We can increase our Base Attributes that way? Does that work for other Attributes as well…?”
Scratching the back of his head, as if embarrassed, Lucas replied, “Ahhh… Yes… Somewhat. Professor Hyunji said that it’s the easiest for Strength and Finesse. Vitality and Recovery, specifically, are supposedly nearly impossible, as it involves a tremendous amount of pain and suffering. Something about being near-death for a long time…? The more esoteric Attributes, like Focus, Stamina, Perception and Resolve, are even harder to train, however. They’re generally considered straight up impossible to train, as it would simply take too much effort and time.”
Thea deflated slightly at that explanation. For a moment she had briefly considered getting all of her Attributes up to a 3 at least, but based on Lucas’ description, Vitality and Recovery training seemed excessively painful - something Thea was not exactly looking for.
Going over Karania’s Attributes herself, Thea could not help but be surprised at her low Strength. While the girl had always been the most slender-looking in Alpha Squad, Thea had not pegged her as someone with a sub-3 in Strength. Especially after going up against her during the Practical. Her strikes had come with some serious momentum behind them, but apparently, most of that was due to her strange, viper-like stance.
Isabella chimed in, focusing the conversation back onto the topic at hand, “I, for one, am happy to see that our surgery-focused medic here ended up with her 5 in Finesse. At least chances of her accidentally slipping up are minimal…”
‘Considering what I’ve seen during the Practical, I don’t think we need to worry about accidental injuries at all…’ was the only thing Thea could think of, at the mention of Karania’s surgical prowess.
Their brief spar at the twilight hours of the Practical had left a profound impact in Thea’s mind. Karania was definitely a more… interesting person than she had initially expected. Whether or not that was going to be a problem for her, she wasn’t quite sure yet. She did like Karania, after all. Simply distancing herself from, for the most part, the only person to treat her like a normal human being, did not seem reasonable in her mind, just because her personality seemed a bit unhinged during specific scenarios.
In response to Isabella’s remark, Karania flexed her, arguably low amount of, muscles in a comical fashion, before saying, “Leave it to me! I got all your surgical needs covered!” prompting the rest of Alpha Squad to chuckle to varying degrees.
Thea, too, was smiling at the antics. Once more she felt weirdly ‘at home’ with this lineup of people, despite the underlying tensions. One thing she did not feel ‘at home’ with however, was the fact that she still had not come up with a reliable way to display her Attributes without getting dissected by Karania as a result.
Unfortunately for Thea, time had finally run out, as Corvus looked to her and prompted, “Alright, time for the last one. Thea, would you do us the honours?”
Sighing, before giving Karania a look from the side, Thea stretched out her left arm slowly. Slower than necessary.
Unsure what to say, Thea started, “Sooo... About my Attributes… I was kind of hoping to not have to run into this head-first…”
Feeling like she wasn’t getting anywhere with that, as the rest of Alpha Squad simply looked at her with confused expressions on their faces, Thea quickly finished, “Please, protect me from Karania!” before displaying her Attributes for all to see.
Strength: 3.18 (+0%)
Finesse: 4.73 (+0%)
Vitality: 2.43 (+0%)
Recovery: 2.68 (+0%)
Stamina: 3.11 (+0%)
Focus: 4.31 (+0%)
Perception: 5.28 (+0%)
Resolve: 5.97 (+0%)
[Psychic: TBD (+0%)] (Locked 17.99/30)
[TBD: TBD (+0%)] (Locked)
Immediately, everyone slacked back into their chairs, eyes wide, as they stared at the array of Attribute before them. Simultaneously, Desmond, Corvus, Isabella and Lucas started talking, “... two 5s?! By the gods, is that even possible…?”
“5.97?! That’s basically a 6, what the fuck is this?!”
“Finesse of 4.73…? That’s basically a third 5 right there… What in the Emperor’s name…?”
“Naturally, the freak gets the freak Attributes…”
The only one that didn’t say anything at the reveal, was Karania.
Suddenly finding herself utterly fascinated with the ceiling of the living room, Thea was downright enamoured with its intricately painted, monotone white. Staring up at the ceiling, she slowly scooted further away from Karania, while staying seated in her chair.
A brief moment later, a cold shiver ran down her spine, as she heard Karania’s cherubic voice waft over, “Thea… Where are you going? You don’t need to be afraid! For you see… The doctor’s already here…”
A wet tearing of flesh and the renewed sounds of breaking bones made Thea flinch, as she continued to be absolutely fascinated by the intricate monotony of their living room ceiling.
The rest of Alpha Squad had turned silent at the happenings before them, Corvus and Isabella visibly enjoying the display, while Lucas seemed nonchalant as ever. Desmond, on the other hand, had a look of downright horror on his face, going between the holographic display of the Attributes over Thea to Karania.
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With wide eyes, Thea suddenly felt something rough touch her cheek, as her head was slowly, but forcibly turned towards Karania’s. A strange combination of horror and amusement spread through Thea, when she realised that it had been Karania’s transformed, tweezer-like bone that was touching her cheek, moving her head to face Karania.
When Thea finally faced the frozen smile of Karania, she faked surprise, before saying, “Ah! Karania! You’re here too! So nice to see you. We were just about to wrap things up, I believe?” looking over to Corvus, in an attempt to move the conversation forward.
Forcibly having her head moved back to look at Karania’s own, Thea couldn’t help but smile at the silly situation.
With her fake, cherubic voice, Karania posed the question that Thea had been dreading, “So… When, exactly, did you intend to tell me you won yet another lottery with the System, Thea?”
Finding herself strangely enjoying the moment, Thea replied, “Ah… You see… Would you believe me, if I said that I didn’t know, nobody else had two 5s…? Or basically a 6…?”
Without breaking her smile, Karania simply shook her head slowly.
“Ah… Well… It would have come up in today’s squad meeting either way…?”
Unable to hold back their laughter any longer, Corvus and Isabella broke into all-out laughter at the display. Similarly, Lucas started chuckling in his heavy-set, mellow way that made Thea’s bones vibrate ever so slightly.
Karania removed her hand from Thea’s face, returning it to it’s normal form with the renewed sound of breaking bones, before whispering, almost inaudible to everyone, except for Thea with her high Perception, “We’ll talk about this later,” before bowing slightly towards the rest of Alpha Squad.
“I hope you’ve enjoyed this little display! I couldn’t stop myself, when I heard Thea yell for help, haha,” breaking into a laughter herself.
Thea, stuck between genuine concern of what Karania might take away from this and the hilarity of the situation that had just played out, simply chuckled politely. She wanted to be a part of Alpha Squad’s lighthearted moments too, after all.
Suddenly, breaking through the lighthearted atmosphere like the crack of a whip, Desmond spoke up, “No, but seriously. What the fuck are these Attributes?”
Sobering up almost immediately, the remaining members of Alpha Squad seemingly returned to their theorycrafting mood.
“He’s not wrong. Just what the fuck did you do?”, prompted Isabella.
With all eyes suddenly focused on Thea, her anxiety spiked. She had not expected the mood to change so quickly and was wholly unprepared for this line of questioning.
“I… I don’t know. I have just as much idea what’s going on as any of you… Probably even less, to be honest…” Thea tried to explain.
Lucas suddenly perked up, as if remembering something important, before asking, “What did Karania mean with ‘another lottery’, anyway?”
Wide-eyed, Karania looked at Thea, genuine horror visible in her eyes, at the realization of what she had let slip.
With a long sigh, Thea threw up both of her arms, “Listen. There’s another thing about my profile that’s… strange. I can’t talk about it, though. I’d love to, but I can’t. As in, I’m literally not allowed to. I can prove it, too!”
Getting an idea, to hopefully lead the conversation down a different path, Thea raised her voice, “Sovereign, am I allowed to disclose the information you deleted from the message board to the rest of Alpha Squad?”
Taken aback, the members of Alpha Squad, minus Karania, sat up straighter in their chairs, at the mention of the ship’s AI, eyes widening in anticipation.
Immediately, the monotone voice of the Sovereign echoed through the living room, “Recruit McKay. You are not allowed to share, disclose or hint at the contents of the information that was deleted from the message boards, until the investigations have concluded. The only other person you are allowed to share this information with for now, is Recruit Karania Faulkner.”
“There you have it... Literally not allowed. Otherwise, I promise, I’d share it with all of you!” Thea pleaded, hoping that this incident did not destroy whatever amount of trust she had managed to build with the rest of Alpha Squad so far.
Eyes wide, the other members of Alpha Squad shared looks, before Corvus spoke up, “Well… I can’t say I’m not extremely interested in whatever that was all about… But I also understand the situation you’re in, very well. After all, I was kind of in the same boat before this meeting today, with my Gold Ability and all that… I trust you, Thea. Just… Let us know whenever you can?”
Eager to take the branch that had been extended by her squad leader, Thea immediately agreed, “Promise!”
Corvus then turned to the rest of the squad, asking, “Any objections to that?” Thea held her breath as his gaze swept over the others.
Surprisingly, even Desmond, who Thea half expected to voice a complaint out of sheer opposition to her, remained silent. It seemed the Sovereign’s direct order had calmed his usual obstinacy.
Before Corvus could wrap up the discussion, Thea interjected, surprising everyone, including herself, “Actually, there is something I’d like to bring up before we conclude…”
The entire squad turned their attention to her. Taking a deep breath, she said, “Professor Pierce shared a list of System commands with Karania and me. One of them, specifically, might be helpful for us to review as a team, for the build discussion. It's the command to pull up the ‘Achievements’ screen.”
Corvus' eyes lit up, a broad grin spreading across his face as he processed Thea's words. “That's fantastic! Thanks, Thea! It's a brilliant idea, actually. Achievements are reportedly one of the pathways to acquiring Abilities, after all.”
As Corvus and the rest of Alpha Squad began discussing the potential merits of Thea’s idea, Thea rapidly navigated through the datapad she had pulled from her bag, sharing the list of commands from the System 101 Lecture with everyone in Alpha Squad through their shared connection.
When they had all received the file, they each gave a nod of appreciation towards Thea. Even Desmond gave a quick nod, much to Thea’s surprise.
Corvus pulled up the list, as everyone had settled back down again and started reading through it, “Alright, so let’s see… Apparently asking for Achievements won’t work, for some odd reason. It’s ‘Accomplishment’ instead…? That’s extremely strange… Maybe the System mis-translated it…?”
Thea, herself, had not looked at the list before either, so this was her first time seeing it too. Most of the commands made sense and were self-explanatory, which made the one for the Achievement screen feel all the more out-of-place, ‘I wonder if this is something I should ask the Professor about…? Why would the System not react to a request for Achievements…? It generally is very good with sensing intent, after all…’
“Alright. Let’s just take a look then? Let’s ask the System for our Accomplishments, I guess, and see what happens. I wonder if we even have any…?” Corvus prompted, before looking around the room and receiving an acknowledging nod from everyone.
Moments later, Thea herself prompted the System as well, ‘Show me my Accomplishments.’
Her eyes immediately grew wide, to the point that any onlookers would likely have been worried they’d pop out of their sockets, as she looked at the first achievement listed.
Unwilling to engage with another can of worms at the moment, she mentally scrolled down to the remaining achievements instead.
...
----------------------------------------
[Senior (Silver) Marksman Accomplishment]
Successfully hit more than 95% of all shots taken.
Next Rank: Successfully hit more than 97% of all shots taken.
Rewards:
* 1x Finesse- or Perception-based Ability [Silver-rarity or below] (Unclaimed)
* 3,500 System Credits (Unclaimed)
* 300 System Merit (Unclaimed)
----------------------------------------
[Senior (Silver) Hitman Accomplishment]
Successfully kill more than 95% of all enemies hit in one shot.
Next Rank: Successfully kill more than 97% of all enemies hit in one shot.
Rewards:
* 1x Finesse- or Perception-based Ability [Silver-rarity or below] (Unclaimed)
* 3,500 System Credits (Unclaimed)
* 300 System Merit (Unclaimed)
----------------------------------------
[Senior (Silver) Stellar Republic Menace]
Successfully kill more than 50 soldiers of the Stellar Republic that are actively using their Faction Trait.
Next Rank: Successfully kill more than 75 soldiers of the Stellar Republic that are actively using their Faction Trait.
Rewards:
* 1x Technology Tier-Up Equipment Voucher (Unclaimed)
* 3,500 System Credits (Unclaimed)
* 300 System Merit (Unclaimed)
Looking at the three listed Achievements, Thea could not help but be confused, ‘I’m pretty sure I’ve succeeded on all of those “Next Rank” parts during my challenge trial…? Especially the last one. I’m absolutely positive I’ve killed more than 75 Duplicators…?’
Suddenly, those written parts changed right in front of her eyes.
[Senior (Silver) Marksman Accomplishment]
Next Rank: Successfully hit more than 97% of all shots taken & Participate in a battlefield with a higher difficulty rating.
----------------------------------------
[Senior (Silver) Hitman Accomplishment]
Next Rank: Successfully kill more than 97% of all enemies hit in one shot & Participate in a battlefield with a higher difficulty rating.
----------------------------------------
[Senior (Silver) Stellar Republic Menace]
Next Rank: Successfully kill more than 75 soldiers of the Stellar Republic that are actively using their Faction Trait & Participate in a battlefield with a higher difficulty rating.
Clicking her tongue, Thea scowled and thought to herself, ‘You’re telling me, I would’ve gotten a lot better Achievements, if the challenge trial hadn’t been a Deep-Dive Simulation?! Damnit! I could easily have gotten the Gold-equivalent of all of these, if not even better!’
Her thoughts were interrupted by the voice of Karania next to her, “You okay there, Thea?”
With a deep sigh, Thea answered, “Haaa… Yeah. Just figured out that the Achievements were locked to a maximum of Silver, because of the DDS we did the challenge in… Damnit…!”
Raising an eyebrow, Karania looked at Thea for a second, before simply shaking her head, a slight frown apparent on her face.
“So, anyone got anything special?” Corvus asked cheerfully into the room, letting his eyes roam over the assembled squad.
“Personally, I ended up with two decent Iron ones. Mostly for helping out the Squad I found myself running around with. The rewards are quite generous, I do have to say. The System is offering 150 Merits each and a whopping 2,000 SC. That’ll definitely pay for all this food here! Thanks for that, Thea. Completely forgot about the Achievements, to be honest,” he jokingly added, before nodding towards Thea.
“Same. Although mine are based on murdering a whole bunch of people,” Isabella chimed in with a shrug.
Hearing the first two Alpha Squad members disclose their gains, Thea could stop herself from worrying, ‘Please tell me, I’m not the only one with Silver Achievements yet again…’
As if hearing her thoughts, Karania chimed in with her typical, bright smile, “I actually got a Silver-rank, for healing! Saved a crapload of Marines during my trial, guess the System really liked that. 300 Merit and 3,500 SC for that. Also a Silver-rank Finesse-based Ability that I can claim, apparently? Pretty awesome payout!”
Breathing a quiet sigh of relief at the revelation, Thea quickly joined in, in the hopes that this would cover up for her above-average performance, “Ahh, same here. Well except for the healing part. Mine were based on hitting my shots properly. I was mostly sniping during my trial, so it makes sense, I guess.
“I also figured out that we were locked to Silver-rank, as the Achievement would have been Gold otherwise. The requirements for the next rank seem to be System-bullshit once again, hiding the actual important parts unless you can think of them yourself…
“For one, the battlefield needs to be of a high enough difficulty to receive better than Silver, apparently. Whatever that means,” she finished, trying to be nonchalant and throwing up her arms.
A moment of stunned silence followed Thea’s revelation before Isabella blurted out, “Wait… is there anything about you that isn't unusual? What do you mean, ‘it would’ve been Gold’? That's crazy! You weren't even integrated with the System during the trial. How could you even get close to that?!”
Panicking, Thea clamped her hands over her mouth. She hadn't meant to divulge her near-Gold performance, only wanting to share the 'Next Rank' part of her realisation.
Caught off guard and struggling to come up with an answer, she finally sighed, “I… I’m a pretty good shot…?”
Suddenly, Karania chimed in from the right, “Honestly, I’m glad it’s not just me feeling this way. This shit has been going on for the whole day with her! I swear, she’s been driving me insane! I thought everyone in Alpha Squad was more like her, making me feel extremely inadequate the entire fucking day…!”
The rest of Alpha Squad turned to Karania in surprise, their eyes wide. After a beat, the shock on their faces was replaced with smiles. They seemed to find Karania's outburst amusing, even relatable, given the recent series of events.
With a shake of her head, Isabella turned back to Thea, “Well… It seems it’s not just you then, Karania. This Cyan gets stranger by the minute…”
Feeling like she messed up all her carefully laid out plans for the evening, Thea felt frustration bubble over in her chest. Throwing her hands up in exasperation, Thea abruptly got up from her chair, “Alright! I’m strange, okay?! I’m good at what I do, which is shoot people. I managed to get three Silver… Or I guess Gold…? Maybe higher? Achievements based on killing the right people with very good precision.
“I have some weirdness going on with my Profile and my Attributes are a mess. I didn’t choose any of this, okay? I didn’t ask for this! I’ve literally been trying my hardest, ever since the first opportunity presented itself. That’s how I got here. It’s hard enough to try and fit in when every fifth Marine is looking at me like I’m some sort of alien, I don’t need this shit from my own squad as well! Simply accept that I’m good at my job and move the fuck on!” Thea finished, slamming her hands on the table with a loud thud, before storming off towards her room, leaving the rest of Alpha Squad behind.
Thea wasn’t even sure why she was so upset.
After all, she was mostly upset at herself, for messing up all of her plans to get closer to the other members of Alpha Squad. Yet, despite her best efforts, she had somehow managed to alienate them further, instead.
A stunned silence filled the room for a good minute, before Isabella quietly said, “I… I really didn’t mean it that way…”
A long sigh came from Karania, before she added, “I think it wasn’t you, specifically. She’s had a rough day… This one Recruit in our Practical, Alex… something?
“I don’t remember his name. Whatever. He literally tried killing her after the first round finished. Some kind of disagreement, about her being a mid-worlder, according to Lt. Eifang… Then there was a whole issue with the message board and… It’s just been a mess, all around.”
Wide-eyed, Isabella sprung up from her chair, her face distorted in anger, before blurting out, “This guy did fucking what? He tried to kill Thea for being a mid-worlder?!”
Shrinking back before the towering Isabella, Karania replied, “Ahh… Yes. He’s in the brig now, he’s awaiting the final verdict from Major Quinn, last I heard…?”
Seemingly placated by the mention of the Major, Isabella sat back down on her chair with a thud and a deep sigh, “Fucking inners and core worlders that think they’re inherently better… I definitely had some of those say hello during Practical today as well. Were a fun few rounds of pounding meat into the ground… But annoying nevertheless… I didn’t know she had been through all that today…”
Corvus chimed in at this point, with a calming tone in his voice, “You couldn’t have. And I don’t think you’re really at fault here. I think Thea’s just been through a lot. Also, we’re all pretty young still. She’s… what… 17? 18 maybe? We’re all still in our late teens or early twenties. Some hormones are likely to be at play as well… I’m sure she’ll be back. I’ll make sure to talk to her either later or tomorrow, I promise.”
“No… No. Let me do it. I… I have been kind of unfair to her overall. I’m the only mid-worlder here aside from her. Sure, she might be a Cyan, but she really doesn’t strike me as the bad kind. I’ll talk to her tomorrow... Try and set things right,” Isabella decided, her voice regaining its usual, firm conviction.
Corvus looked at Isabella for a few seconds, before ultimately nodding, “Very well… Let’s wrap up the Achievements then, consider some builds and head out. Today has been a very long and exhausting day for all of us, after all…”
—
In her room, Thea threw herself onto her bed.
Her mind was racing with thoughts, ‘Why did I do that?! That was so stupid! Who reacts like that?! Now they’re going to hate me even more… I just ran off like a child!’
Screaming into her pillows and punching the soft mattress below her until she ran out of energy, Thea let go of her remaining frustration. Rolling onto her back, breathing heavily, Thea muttered to herself, “Why did I do that… That was so stupid…”
She stayed like this for what felt like hours, before she regained her senses.
“Haaa… No use being upset about it… I’ll just apologise tomorrow and start over from zero… Not like I’ve made a ton of headway so far anyway… Why is this whole social part so fucking difficult? Why can’t I just shoot another couple hundred Stellar Republic duplicators or something, instead…?”
That thought suddenly reminded her of that first Achievement, the one she had purposely skipped to keep a calm head - whatever good that had done for her.
Prompting the System to display her Achievements once again, Thea took a closer look at the orange-glowing text inside of the blue box.
[Apex (Unique) Progenitor]
??? ??? ??? ??? ???
Next Rank: None.
Rewards: ??? (Claimed)
Reading through the Achievement again, Thea thought to herself, ‘My first ever Unique… Why does the System always have to hide everything?! This is completely useless… but it says that the rewards are claimed…? Is this what gave me my Passive…?
‘Who can I even ask about these things? Professor Pierce? That would probably be my best bet… But he’s not available for a while… Is there anyone that I know that I could ask right now…? Ha… Good joke, Thea. I barely even know the five people in my squad…
‘Major Quinn, maybe…? I haven’t seen her since the ceremony, though. And I doubt she’d be willing to just talk about a random Achievement with a nobody like me… Why isn’t there a simple call button to connect to someone that’s always available and knows about everyth—’
Suddenly, Thea’s eyes opened wide.
Of course! There was someone exactly like that!
Thinking her plan through for a second, Thea raised her voice.
“Sovereign, can you access the UHF’s database regarding the Allbright System? Specifically, the Achievement section?”
The monotone voice answered without hesitation, “Yes. Although my access is limited, based on whoever asks me to query the database. I can, however, request higher-level access from anyone aboard this ship, should the need arise.”
Internally celebrating at the fact that her plan had worked, for once, Thea continued, while projecting her orange-glowing Achievement towards the ceiling, “Please look up Achievements that look similar to this one. Request any access permissions you require, but don’t mention who it’s for or the Achievement itself. Is that doable?”
A brief moment of silence followed, before the Sovereign spoke up again, “Yes. Recruit McKay, to confirm your request: I am to query the UHF-wide database’s Achievement section for any Achievements that are similar to the one you’ve just shown me, requesting any access permissions necessary, without revealing your identity or the Achievement itself?”
Carefully listening to the AI’s request for confirmation, making sure she was entirely safe from being found out in this endeavour, lest she end up with another investigation on her heels, Thea replied, “Yes! Oh… And can you just call me Thea? Recruit McKay sounds a bit… strange to me.”
“Very well, Thea. I will note this request in your UHF profile, informing your professors and superior officers of this preference, unless this was solely meant for me. I will attempt to fulfil your request immediately.”
Surprised at the reply of the Sovereign, Thea quickly replied, “That would be fantastic! Thank you!”
Inwardly celebrating this unexpected boon, Thea took another look at her orange-coloured achievement, ‘I’ll figure out what you are, in no time… Don’t you worry…’
Before she could continue her thoughts however, the Sovereign spoke up again, dashing her hopes immediately: “I have queried all 96,564 Achievements located in the UHF database using Major Quinn’s access permissions and found a total of 0 partial matches for the word ‘Progenitor’. For the word ‘Apex’ I have found 1,361 partial matches. The connecting string between all of them, being that they represent the highest possible Achievement of their type. Do you wish for me to repeat the query?”
Once again shocked by the speed of the AI, Thea simply let out a long sigh, before answering, “No… It’s alright. Thanks, Sovereign.”
With its monotone voice, it answered, “With pleasure, Thea. It is my duty to serve,” before silence enveloped the room once more.
Deflated and exhausted, Thea took one last look at her orange-coloured Achievement, before closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep, ‘Guess I won’t figure you out this quickly after all…’